I manage a small company in Western Pennsylvania. Over the years, I have found employees and candidates from a dozen different sources... everything from a former college professor still in touch with former students to staffing agencies.

Where did you find your job? Where to you look first? I'll be hiring again soon and I want to choose the most effective sites/media possible.

This is for an entry-level position with the company (a lot of break/fix) that could grow into something bigger.

I've always got my positions through the following (top-most is most successful):

*Networking

*Mining sites, like Indeed.com or Simplyhired.com ... They pull from a looot of sites it seems.

*State agency placement (going to the dept of labor site and searching key words. In our state, some employers ONLY post with the dept of labor).

*Employment agency (private)

*Cold calls (My current job as a sysadmin was cold calling and got a network tech job to start). This one is really tough to lock in. You don't know who to start applying to, "What company do I WANT to work for?" Then they might not be hiring. If they are hiring, you might have wasted your time because you might have been qualified as a sysadmin at one job, the other one says you're way under qualified. Very difficult to test the waters on cold calling. Also how you present yourself, you want to seem persistent, but not a desperate crazy person.

I've approached a local college before to see if any of their students were interested. You can't guarantee that you'll find someone, but I had a couple show some interest. This was especially the case because it's quite a rural area, and jobs are hard to come by; many of the youngsters actually plan on moving out of the area.

I'd also say they proved to be quite good; and I like to think that I have them a good start which has subsequently proven invaluable to their careers.

Thank you everyone! It is good to know where professionals might look first when thinking about a new job. I wasn't sure how relevant Monster, Indeed and newspapers were anymore. The best employees we have had over the years came from networking.

Depending on the route I take, it could cost anywhere from $25-$400 to post an ad in different places. I'm going to check out a few schools and check in with a few of our good networking partners.

I'll be honest with you, the ﻿﻿very﻿﻿ first place I look is friends and family. IT is such that most industries/companies need some kind of IT help and one of the easiest ways to get yourself in the door is with a reference known to the employer.

Found my current position through ITT-Tech's "Employment Development Office", at my campus they do go out of their way to try to put qualified candidates/alums with good employers. I'm not sure, but I think its free for employers to list with them.

Local schools (we have a couple in the area). I remember how tough it was to get anyone to give me the time of day, let alone a shot (the whole "we cant hire you without experience, but you can't get experience unless SOMEONE hires you" catch 22), that I try to get HR to start there whenever possible.

As for mine, I got both from my current one and previous one from word of mouth\networking (a friend of a friend knew a guy type thing).

The HR manager at the company I now work at, also used to work at another company I worked for, a crappy little call center that I was at for 3 weeks during a break in college.

She was looking for an entry-level sort of IT person and was browsing through Indeed, looking at the resumes of people who used to work at that little call center. She found me, and gave me a call. I went in for one of the best interviews I'd had since leaving school, and heard nothing for two months. Then suddenly, while still looking for work, I got a call from her, offering me a job.

It was great, given that the pay had increased over 25% from that first interview. I signed the paperwork that afternoon and have been here for about 42 days now.

I'd have to agree with the word of mouth and going to Universities to find interested students or graduating seniors. I may be a little bias because i am still in school. Both of the positions that I have held have been from word of mouth. I was attending a technical school my senior year of high school and my instructor told me about a graduated student of his that worked at a bigger university that was seeking networking interns. My current position came from the a member of the HR department reaching out to her husbands old professors, who just happen to be my current professors. I believe that it is dependent on what kind of position you are trying to find applicants for, both positions that i stated were entry level.

I found my current job through a college job fair, but I have used Indeed, Simply Hired, and Craigslist in previous job searches. Prior to moving, most of my jobs came through networking and word of mouth.

I do it the old-fashioned way: I print out copies of my resume, get cleaned up, and hand out my resume door-to-door in business centers.

The company I work for now (and plan on retiring from one day!) didn't even have my position available at the time, but I submitted my resume anyway. I'm so glad that I did!

Edit: I should mention that I also built up my online presence immensely - I cleaned up my Facebook page, fully built up my LinkedIn profile, created a website (with my resume and portfolio), etc. I also made business cards to hand out with my resume or to give to interviewers, because hey...you never know!

I found it on Indeed.com it was a part time job and I still had a semester left until I graduated. It was the first job I applied to. I was planning on applying to more closer to the end of the semester. I think if you can get into a position that's the best then try to find that "dream job". After I graduated it turned into a full time IT support position. Learning more and more everyday.

I think this really has a lot to do with what experience level you are looking for in the job placement. I wouldn't bother posting an entry level tech job on LinkedIn. I would however post a job there if it required a higher level of competence and experience. Our district found our last tech through craigslist. We got plenty of applicants and we got a great tech from that pool.

Sometimes I'll come across a senior position opening on CG that has been placed across multiple job sites, but mostly you will find a lot of helpdesk and jr admin jobs. I haven't been impressed with DICE.

Mid level & Senior level jobs:

-NETWORKING!

-EdJoin

-Staffing/recruiting

The higher you go, the more and more you will notice how much the world opens as you broaden your professional network. Rub elbows with people at your level and higher. Prove yourself, and doors will open as people notice your skills. It amazes me how many openings are not advertised or how hires are made with conversations rather than a job search. This is one of the big things new IT pros need to recognize and try to develop ASAP.